Chinese Checkers
Race your ten marbles across the star to the opposite point. Step to a neighbouring hole or chain jumps over other marbles, with up to six human or computer players on one screen.
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Green wins!
How to use the Chinese Checkers
- Choose the players. Pick 2, 3, 4 or 6 players and set each colour to Human or Computer. Green, at the bottom, moves first.
- Select a marble. Click one of your marbles. Green dots show single steps and orange dots show jump destinations.
- Preview the path. Hover over or focus a dot to see the full jump route, then click it to move.
- Chain your jumps. A jump goes over one adjacent marble of any colour into the empty hole behind it. You can keep jumping in any direction in the same turn.
- Fill the opposite point. The first player to fill the star point directly across from their start wins. Use Show hint or Undo move whenever you like.
Chinese checkers rules at a glance
| Rule | Details |
|---|---|
| Board | A six-pointed star of 121 holes: a central hexagon of 61 holes and six points (triangles) of 10 holes each. |
| Marbles | 10 per player, starting in their home point. |
| Players | 2 (opposite points), 3 (every other point), 4 (two pairs of opposite points) or 6. |
| Step | Move one marble to any of the six adjacent holes if it is empty. This ends the turn. |
| Jump | Jump over one adjacent marble of any colour into the empty hole directly beyond. Chain as many jumps as you like, changing direction freely. |
| No captures | Jumped marbles stay on the board. |
| Other points | Marbles may pass through other points but not end a move there (optional house rule allows it). |
| Winning | Be first to fill the opposite point. If an opponent's marble blocks a hole there, a full point containing your marbles still wins. |
Strategy tips
- Build ladders. Spaced-out marbles in a line, one hole apart, let you jump several holes at once. Move pieces so they create jumping paths for the next turn.
- Use opponents' marbles too. Any marble can be jumped, so an opponent's piece in the middle can launch you across the board.
- Don't leave stragglers. The last marble out of your home point often costs the most turns. Bring up the rear marbles regularly so they can use your ladders.
- Fill the tip first. In the target point, move marbles to the far tip and back rows first so the front holes stay free for late arrivals.
- Look before you move. Hover over each destination to see the jump path. The longest jump isn't always best if it leaves a marble stuck on the edge.
How the computer plays
For every legal move, the computer measures how far each of its marbles is from the tip of its target point, counted in hex steps, and adds a penalty that grows with the square of the distance so that stragglers are brought forward. Easy often picks a random good move, Normal plays the best move it can see, and Hard also looks at its own best follow-up move to find ladder-building moves. The hint button uses the Hard search.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play Chinese checkers?
Each player starts with 10 marbles in one point of a six-pointed star. Players take turns moving one marble, either one step to an adjacent empty hole or by jumping over a neighbouring marble into the empty hole directly beyond it. Jumps can be chained in the same turn. The first player to move all ten marbles into the opposite point wins.
Can you jump over your own marbles?
Yes. In Chinese checkers you may jump over any marble, your own or an opponent's, and nothing is captured. Building ladders of your own marbles is the key to fast moves across the board.
Can you combine a step and a jump in one turn?
No. A turn is either a single step to an adjacent hole or a series of one or more jumps. Once you take a single step, your turn ends.
How many people can play Chinese checkers?
The game works with 2, 3, 4 or 6 players. With 2 players you start in opposite points, with 3 players every other point is used, with 4 players two pairs of opposite points are used and with 6 players every point is filled.
What if an opponent's marble stays in my target point?
Leaving marbles in your home point to block an opponent is considered unsporting. This game uses the common anti-blocking rule: you win once every hole of your target point is filled and at least one of them holds your marble, even if some holes are occupied by an opponent who never left.
Can marbles stop in the other star points?
By default, marbles may jump through the other points but may not end a move in a point that is neither their start nor their target, which keeps players from parking in the way. Tick the house rule option if you prefer to allow it.
Is Chinese checkers actually from China?
No. The game was invented in Germany in 1892 as Stern-Halma, a star-shaped version of the American game Halma. It was renamed Chinese Checkers in the United States in the late 1920s as a marketing idea.
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